Re: DIY LED light

Probably half that. 3-4 per square foot would be enough to keep it nice and bright. But if you're just wanting light to be able to see in the tank you might as well just get the cheap 1 watt led strips from the car parts store.

I am looking at doing a DIY LED kit for my 14G Biocube. But i am not wanting to spend that much money . I am growing some smaller corals right now with the stock bulbs, i would just like them to be healthier. What are my options for good but best price?? Thanks

i would say the rapid led is a good option. Try too get CREE LED they are apparently the best as they are used in the big brand LED fixtures you can buy. Do alot of calculating and check out the websites which sell aquatic material. I did a check on how much the rapid led kit would cost and it turned out to be around the same price as a pharos LED fixture which uses the same CREE LED. + this pharos fixture has a wireless controller that you can buy for it after if you want, and it gives you sunrise moonlighting clouds passing over the tank and other cool things like that. So for around the same price i will go with the controlable one.

thats why i said to check out every option you have and compare. Now thats said lol, your tank is not huge so the cost wont be huge either. I know rapid led does a pre chosen kit of 96 watts for 170€ or something in that range. But maybe you can find some other fixture cheaper.

Tank height, type of coral also play another role in how many LEDs you're going to need. I'm ordering my LEDs from SteveLeds. There not Crees, they're Luxeon ES LED's. It will be 24 LEDs. 16 royal blues, 4 cool whites and 4 neutral whites. I am using C-channel instead of a traditional heatsink, I am using 2 Inventronics drivers, and controlling it with a Dim4 controller. If I wasn't going to run the Dim4 this build would cost around $200.00. This is for a 40B (36x18x16) I know 24 will be enough. This is going to be an Zoa/softie tank, maybe some LPS depending on what kind of number I get from the lights. If I ever wanted to go Sps then all I'd have to do is add a few more LEDs.

I've watched Joey's vid a couple of days ago. I am now decided to diy led lighting for my future 5ftx2.5ftx2.5ft freshwater tank. Since Joey made a full spectrum lighting for his ray tank, i would like to ask if full spectrum has any advantage to freshwater fishes such as arowana, datnoids, rays, etc.

i don't know if the spectrum is going to affect the fish or not. i don't think so. I think spectrum comes into play if you have corals and plants which do need specific amount of lighting and spectrum and other things like that. But with only fish i don't think a full spectrum is necessary.

i don't know if the spectrum is going to affect the fish or not. i don't think so. I think spectrum comes into play if you have corals and plants which do need specific amount of lighting and spectrum and other things like that. But with only fish i don't think a full spectrum is necessary.

Thanks for the quick reply bro!

How about for the viewing experience? Is it better to have full spectrum?

If the spectrum doesn't matter for the fish well i guess that for the viewing experience it will depend on your taste. i know that i prefer a little blue (fav color) so thats me. but if you want daylight lighting you couls follow the 3 types of white that joey used i think that would do it. Then you can go fancy pink purple green lol. But this is keeping in mind that youd on't have to have a special spectrum for the fish

Just as Fiesta said, if your just doing fish, whether it be fresh or salt light spectrum is not a factor that needs to be considered. The only purpose the lights are going to serve is so you can view the tank at a level you like.

Would ( 2 ) of the 6x20 inch fixtures for a 55 gallon Planted tank be over kill.. And what would everyone experienced with LED's recommend for the amount of LED's needed ( LED's per foot )... I need this fixture to have medium to high output for specific plants...

What would be some suggested configurations..

Rapid LED is the first site I have actually found with kelvin ratings that made sense and they premade heatsinks is awesome...
I was looking at using LED's like this http://dx.com/p/10w-10000k-700-lumen...dc-9-11v-95818 But they do require a lot more work to install...

Did you use any Lenses to direct the light... I have read so many DIY articles sense I found this one and its 50/50 whether people use lenses and the ones that do say its a must to get the complete LED power... 40 or 60 degree lenses ...